Discover never-before-told details of POW underground operations during the Vietnam War told through one airman's inspiring story of true love, honor, and courage. Air Force pilot Captain Carlyle "Smitty" Harris was shot down over Vietnam on April 4, 1965 and taken to the infamous Hoa Lo prison--nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton." For the next eight years, Smitty and hundreds of other American POWs--including John McCain and George "Bud" Day--suffered torture, solitary confinement, and unimaginable abuse. It was there that Smitty covertly taught many other POWs the Tap Code--an old, long-unused method of communication from World War II. Using the code, they could softly tap messages of encouragement to lonely neighbors and pass along resistance policies from their leaders. The code quickly became a lifeline during their internment. It helped the prisoners boost morale, stay unified, communicate the chain of command, and prevail over a brutal enemy. Meanwhile, back home in the United States, Harris's wife, Louise, raised their three children alone, unsure of her husband's fate for seven long years. One of the first POW wives of the Vietnam War, she became a role model for other military wives by advocating for herself and her children in her husband's absence. Told through both Smitty's and Louise's voices, Tap Code shares the riveting true story of: Ingenuity under pressure Strength and dignity in the face of a frightening enemy The hope, faith, and resolve necessary to endure even the darkest circumstances Praise for Tap Code: "Tap Code is an incredible story about two American heroes. Col. "Smitty" Harris and his wife, Louise, epitomize the definition of commitment--to God, to country, and to family. This tale of extreme perseverance will restore your faith in the human spirit." --Brigadier General John Nichols, USAF "The incomprehensibly long ordeal of the Harris family is agonizing. Their love, faith, loyalty, and courage epitomize all that is good about America." --Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, USMC (ret.), POW, Hanoi, 11/11/1966 to 3/4/1973

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh knew they were putting their lives on the line. Islamic laws in Iran forbade them from sharing their Christian beliefs, but in three years, they'd covertly put New Testaments into the hands of twenty thousand of their countrymen and started two secret house churches.In 2009, they were finally arrested and held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, a place where inmates are routinely tortured and executions are commonplace. In the face of ruthless interrogations, persecution, and a death sentence, Maryam and Marziyeh chose to take the radical--and dangerous--step of sharing their faith inside the very walls of the government stronghold that was meant to silence them. In "Captive in Iran," two courageous Iranian women recount how God used their 259 days in Evin Prison to shine His light into one of the world's darkest places, giving hope to those who had lost everything and showing love to those in despair.

Born on the small Greek island of Melos, Joseph Georgirenes became a monk on Mount Athos and was consecrated as Archbishop of Samos in 1666. Five years later he left his diocese and travelled to Europe, visiting Rome, Paris, London and Oxford. Scholars such as Antoine Galland in Paris and Thomas Smith in Oxford invited this Greek Orthodox priest to take part in their theological discussions. Until now, Georgirenes has been best known for having established the first Greek Orthodox church in London in Soho, and for publishing a detailed account of the condition and practices of the Orthodox church living under Ottoman rule. This booklet - A Description of the Present State of Samos, Nicaria, Patmos and Mount Athos - was published in London in 1677 and is republished here for the first time in England. Caught up in the Popish Plot, Georgirenes left England in 1682 and it was not known what happened to him. For the first time, however, this biography reveals the extraordinary further adventures of this much-travelled priest.

With historical-critical analysis and dialogical even-handedness, the essays of this book re-assess the life and legacy of Swami Vivekananda, forged at a time of colonial suppression, from the vantage point of socially-engaged religion at a time of global dislocations and international inequities. Due to the complexity of Vivekananda as a historical figure on the cusp of late modernity with its vast transformations, few works offer a contemporary, multi-vocal, nuanced, academic examination of his liberative vision and legacy in the way that this volume does. It brings together North American, European, British, and Indian scholars associated with a broad array of humanistic disciplines towards critical-constructive, contextually-sensitive reflections on one of the most important thinkers and theologians of the modern era.

Rejecting his family and Christian upbringing, Andy Robinson wanted everything life had to offer to satisfy his every pleasure. God seemed so limiting. His family held him back. The devil offered so much. He made a choice, and made a deal with the devil, rejecting God. Life was on the up. He wanted drink, drugs, women and the freedom to do whatever he wanted. Every indulgence was satisfied. Andy's world was a model for youthful pleasure and his freedom to choose. Until one day his world came crashing down around him. With broken relationships, Andy found himself homeless, desperate and living in fear on the streets. He was out of control and in a downward spiral of destruction. Prison became his only safe place, and when out, was at the mercy of the dark and terrifying world he unwittingly made a pact with. Despite the rebellion, God still had hold of Andy. This story traces the series of disastrous decisions Andy made that almost destroyed his life. It also reveals the extraordinary love of God to rescue those who are utterly lost. If your life seems out of control, this book offers you the same hope that transformed Andy's life.

The Oxford Movement within the Anglican communion sought changes to the Church of England in its articulation of theology and performance of liturgy that would more clearly demonstrate what the movement's members believed was the place of their Church within the wider universal and ancient Church. In this regard they mostly looked to the Roman Catholic Church, but one of their most prominent members thought their goals would be better served by seeking recognition from the Orthodox Church. This book charts the eccentric career of that member, William Palmer, a fellow of Magdalen College and deacon of the Anglican Church. Seemingly destined for a conventional life as a classics don at Oxford, in 1840 and 1842 he travelled to Russia to seek communion from the Russian Orthodox Church. He sought their affirmation that the Anglican Church was part of the ancient Catholic and Apostolic Church world-wide. Despite their personal regard for him, the Russians remained unconvinced by his arguments, not least because of the actions of the Anglican hierarchy in forming alliances with other Protestant bodies. Palmer in turn wrestled with what he saw as the logical inconsistencies in the claim of the Orthodox to be the one true church, such as the differing views he encountered on the manner of reception of converts into the Church by either baptism and chrismation or the latter alone. Increasingly disillusioned with the Church of England, and finding himself without support from the Scottish Episcopal Church, Palmer closest Russian friends such as Mouravieff and Khomiakoff urged him to cast aside his reservations and to convert Orthodoxy. Ultimately he baulked at making what he saw as the cultural leap from West to East, and after some years in ecclesiastical limbo, he followed the example of his Oxford friends such as John Henry Newman, and was received into the Roman Catholic Church in Rome in 1855. He lived in Rome as a Catholic layman until his death in 1879. This is a fascinating account of a failed "journey to Orthodoxy" that should provide food for thought to all who may follow this path in the future and offer grounds for reflection to Orthodox believers on how to remove unnecessary stumbling blocks that can arise on the path to their Church.

My Basilian Priesthood is a memoir of Michael Quealey's six years in the order in the 1960s. During his priesthood, Quealey was director of the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto and engaged in reforming the mass and in other theological matters. The 1960s was a time of questioning traditions, including the role of Biblical criticism, the nature of liturgy, the place of women in the Church and in society, and the power of community living and decision-making. Quealey was deeply involved in all these matters, and sought to fulfill his commitment to service and balance that with his faith and vows of obedience to the institution of the Church. Written decades after the events he describes, the book is his reflection on the excitement of the times and the tensions created when tradition encountered new ideas and new forms of communal living. Here's a story that blends Toronto history with Catholic Church history and an inside look at 1960s counterculture.

A unique, fully illustrated autobiography in full colour covering over 60 years of the life, art, and ruminations of a Catholic Priest and accomplished Sculptor...a life worth discovering and appreciating! Herman Falke was born in Holland in 1928. At a very early age he chose the religious life and enrolled at a Junior Seminary outside Amsterdam. However, the German occupation of Holland changed his reality as a young teenager. He learned how to survive, seek safety, and obey the occupiers’ orders. His daily routine was digging trenches along the German border. Food became scarce and men between the ages of 16 to 50 were rounded up in the local villages, and resistance was met with a firing squad for disobeying orders. The arrival of Canadian forces across Holland in 1945 brought an end to the Occupation and Herman returned to the Seminary to complete his studies. He also began assisting at church services and became the resident organist. Today, at 93 years of age, Father Falke still uses his art to temper the sanity in his life. He has formulated an approach and concept to express the religious stories he has found using ceramics and wood.